At The End of The Day, You Get To Go Home

It’s hard to be a parent. As my son approaches his 11th birthday, I am challenged even more to make sure he is equipped for life in the world. His father and I know he is going to meet people who will tease him, challenge him, and outright try and make life hard. Instead of trying to stop every bully, we are trying our best to help Evan know how to handle himself in rough situations.

At the end of the day, though, we remind him that you will be coming home to us. Evan knows that home is a safe place where he can be honest with his struggles, get help where needed, and be ready for the next day.

Our scripture today offers that same type of hope. God has sent us out into the world, but he does not sugar coat it, he says plainly that we will be persecuted, betrayed by family and friends, and some even put to death.

Jesus states that we will be hated because of him, but hope come when he calls us to stand firm because he will give us wisdom to speak. Our accusers will not be able to resist or contradict the truth we speak and ultimately, we will win life. Persecution, hate, betrayal and death are not to be taken lightly, but God will equip us to resist the evil that people will send out way and in the end, we will get to go home to him.

Read today passage here. Luke 21:12-19

Dysfunction Gone Wild

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

Television can make dysfunction funny. Take the successful TV series The Office which aired from 2005-2013. The setting was a paper distribution company called Dunder Mifflin. With a variety of quirky characters that you might find in any office anywhere, dysfunction seemed to be the guiding principle of the show.

 Most likely the reason that a dysfunctional office is funny is because we can relate to it and identify with the quirky characters. In reality though, dysfunction is the result of our sinful nature and not to be taken lightly.

Consider King David. Although a man after God’s own heart, he had no clue when it came to the dysfunction of his family. Amnon, one of David’s sons, raped his step-sister, Tamar. When David didn’t do anything about it, her biological brother, Absalom, killed Amnon. In this case, it sounds like dysfunction gone wild.

The church at Corinth seems to have been the definition of a dysfunctional church. They struggled with everything from divisions over leadership to immorality and incest to favoritism based on status. It’s hard to imagine that they had any redeeming qualities. Yet, Paul had enough hope in them that he didn’t give up.

In the verses today, Paul wrote about lawsuits amongst believers in the church. Here is yet another example of the Corinthian believers not being able to work and play well together; an example of their dysfunction. Paul makes these observations.

 ⁵ I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? ⁶ But instead, one believer sues another—right in front of unbelievers! ⁷ Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? ⁸ Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers.              NLT

You may not have ever taken another believer to court, but conflict starts small and builds to a crescendo. It begins with a something little between an employer and employee, or two business owners, or neighbors or between husband and wife.

Conflict is a part of the human predicament. It happens every day of our lives. The question is how will you deal with it? Paul suggests working things out, finding a mediator or just accepting the injustice.

Whatever you do, don’t let it become, dysfunction go wild.

Heirs together

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--( Ephesians 3:1)

We face many different types of dissent in our daily living. Often, the workplace is a prime target for backbiting and unhappy people. If there isn't a strong relationship with our co-workers, it can be hard to enjoy the job. If the supervisors don't present an open and honest environment, unnecessary competition takes over and tensions escalate.

Unrest of any kind is detrimental to the well-being of its people, its members. It is the workplace, the family unit, even the neighborhood. We aren't always going to agree, but we can still get along and even respect each other's point of view.

We find Paul in jail, a "prisoner in chains for Christ," as he calls himself. The conflict in our text today is between believers and politicians - sound familiar? Paul had been arrested because he took a stand for the equality of Jews and Gentiles as Christians. The Jewish leaders saw this as radical and destructive so they imprisoned him.

God got a hold of Paul and revealed that Jesus Christ truly was the promised Messiah of the Jews and a light to the Gentiles, thus ending the life Paul lived before. The life of persecution and hatred. In a flash of light, God changed Paul's life and therefore yours and mine too.

Paul's conflict wasn't with the followers of Jesus any longer, but with the religious leaders whose mission it was to put an end to them. Once God gets a hold of us, we are changed too. Any conflict we have with our Christians brothers and sisters must be dealt with head on, with honesty and love. That is what separates us from the rest of the world.

Like the lyrics to the song go:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

And we pray that our unity will one day be restored

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love

Yeah they'll know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side...etc.

Ephesians 3:1-6

Soft Hearts not Hard Feelings

Sometimes the smallest things, the most innocent of over sites can cause division. But there are also those times when something big is the culprit. Back in Jesus' day, it was important for society to take care of widows and orphans.

During this time, as the disciples were increasing in numbers by leaps and bounds, hard feelings developed among the Greek-speaking believers—“Hellenists”—toward the Hebrew-speaking believers because their widows were being discriminated against in the daily food lines. (Acts 6:1 MSG)
There was discord among these two factions of believers. The Hebraic Jews prided themselves on the fact that they had always lived in the land of the patriarchs and that they spoke the language of their fathers. On the other hand, the Hellenistic Jews from other parts of the world were jealous of the first group and made to feel like outsiders. While both groups were converted to Christianity, this strife was not automatically eliminated.

So, friends, choose seven men from among you whom everyone trusts, men full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, and we’ll assign them this task. (Acts 6:3 MSG)

As is usually the case, someone needed to name the problem and take action to rectify the situation. And the early church did just that with a wonderful example of godly wisdom and Christian unity they worked through the dispute.

The result? The Word of God prospered. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased dramatically. (Acts 6:7MSG)

Is there conflict or division in your house? Your workplace? Your church? It is time to name it and then to take action. There is enough going on in the world to cause us sleepless nights. Let's not allow strife in our Christian families or congregations to tear us apart.

Acts 6:1-7

Full Circle

Comfortable and convenient are not words we associate with arguments or disagreements. It seems sometimes that just when we feel we are on the right path, something changes.  So, we must be prepared for the difficult times too, even as we enjoy some pleasant, if not prosperous seasons.

We all have them, both types. In Disney's movie The Lion King, this journey is called 'the circle of life'. A few of the lyrics contain these thoughts:

It's the circle of life

And it moves us all

Through despair and hope

Through faith and love

We will find ourselves living these words at one time or another. Rough times turn into smooth sailing which once again will encounter churning waters. Be it friendships, families, and even organizations. There are seasons of despair and then hope, faith and love. The way to survive it and be even better and stronger on the other side is by relying on God and hunkering down in His Presence.

Acts 14:21-22 (NIV)
They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.

Conflict is a given and because we are all wired differently we process things in a variety of ways. The way you see something might be totally different from my view. That is normal. But conflict doesn't have to mean disunity, or just plain quitting and walking away. It means we need to meet it, greet it, and get over it! Having a close relationship with Jesus will show us how to do this and do it with style and dignity.

Acts 14:21-25

Commitment - Not Neglect

Nehemiah 9:1-3, 32-38, 10:28-32, 39b

Neglect:

1. Fail to take care of someone. To fail to take care of someone when you are responsible for them

1b. Fail to take care of a place. To fail to take care of a place, for example a house or garden

 2. Fail to do something you should do.

 3. Fail to pay attention to something. To fail to pay attention to something such as an idea or a work of art

                             “We will not neglect the house of our God.”

                                              Nehemiah 10:39b

Fail is not a word or feeling any of us like, particularly when it refers to our own actions…… or lack of. Why then do we so often neglect our responsibilities as Christ followers to do what our God asks of us? Do we use the excuse that we are human, or place blame on others due to their lack of Christian behavior or a personality conflict? Perhaps because we know our Lord will forgive us, we get somewhat sloppy in our approach to life and then confess, reconcile, focus for a while, and eventually fall back again only to start the process over? How exhausting!

We beat ourselves and each other up when we forget how to focus our lives on God just as when the “chosen people” turned away from Him. There was sin, conflict and unrest.

Though our God is a righteous and forgiving God, we know that He will be more than delighted if we remain in his will rather than fading in and out. Why then do we do that? Well it’s hard! 

Maintaining relationships is very challenging, yet our God is a relational God, and we are here to serve one another. Within marriages, families, communities, and far beyond, “to the ends of the earth” actually, we are given the responsibility to spread the Word and Love of our Savior. Let’s not fail to keep Him in the middle of all our relationships. Trust God with your heart and “He Will Restore.” 

Listen to: He Will Restore by Chris August

                                                                                             

Read/Listen to: Nehemiah 9:1-3

                           Nehemiah 9:32-38

                           Nehemiah 10:28-32

                           Nehemiah  10:39

Conflicted about Conflict

Psalm 133:1 (NIV)

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!  

I hate conflict.  I find it difficult to face uncomfortable situations and address them head on. I suspect many of you reading this feel much like I do.  It used to be so bad that my husband would compare my temperament to that of our Golden Retriever, Izzy, who would jump up on me if ever he heard a raised voice.  His tail would wag he'd and pant nervously, using every trick in the book to bring peace back to his world.

Naturally, I had to grin when I read verse one of today's scripture.  Age and wisdom have taught me how to hurdle this shortcoming.  While peace is wonderful, there are times when it is necessary to face truth and speak it with love.  Facing difficult situations is part of life. We would never want to ignore warning signs of illness or disease.  It might not be high on your list of things you want to do, but some things we have to face, if only for the peace it brings.

Once conflict is faced and we have stepped out of denial, relief washes over us. There is such a feeling of contentment and perhaps even a thought of, "Why did I wait so long?" When family disputes are discussed and when fractured friendships are mended, then truly we can know “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”

Is there something you have been avoiding, someone who needs to hear from you a few words of love or forgiveness? Is it time you have that difficult conversation with a loved one or co-worker?  Let your words be the balm for someone's heart today.

Psalm 133

Acts 6:7-12, 7:54-60

Do you have conflict in your life?  Does it seem like you move from one sticky situation to another with hardly a breath in between?  There are seasons in our life when it seems like chaos rules and Satan is having his way. Truth be told, often we have brought the difficulties on ourselves. More often than not the situation I find myself enmeshed in, would not have happened were I able to keep my mouth shut...in other words listened. "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (James 1:19)

Today we are reading some of the story of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr.  In deciding what message lie within these verses I came to Acts 6:12, "So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law."  The Jews would not listen, "they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God. (Acts 6:12)


How often do our actions resemble this type of behavior?  When I don't get my own way do I grumble to others and stir up a commotion, or do I listen and really hear what is being said.  Stephen's message was a powerful message hundreds of years ago and it still is today.

Read Acts 6:7-12, 7:54-60 here.